Next Wacom pen will use both Microsoft’s N-Trig technology and Wacom Active ES Protocols

Home » Next Wacom pen will use both Microsoft’s N-Trig technology and Wacom Active ES Protocols

The recent Microsoft-Wacom partnership has brought a lot of confusion among users, with many wondering whether Microsoft would give up its pen technology and replace it with Wacom’s technology. The answer is simple: the two tech companies won’t give up their existing technologies but rather use both at the same time.

For the time being, Microsoft is licensing its Microsoft Pen protocol to Wacom. However, in the near future, we should expect to see a mix of the technologies developed by the two companies. One thing is for sure: they will use the best solutions developed over the year to create spectacular results.

With Wacom currently working on a pen that would support both the Microsoft Pen and Wacom Active ES Pen protocols, the company’s aim is to roll both out onto the market sometime in December 2016, a plan Microsoft confirmed on its blog:

This will help provide customers with the best end-2-end Windows Ink experience. By combining Windows Ink technology, learnings from Surface and Wacom DNA into a high quality writing instrument built for Windows Ink, customers have an easy choice when they need an accessory pen. Customers should expect the pen to be available at retailers like Best Buy this holiday season.

This piece of news means much: by developing this mix of technology, any and all other pens that incorporates Wacom’s technology will be compatible with Windows Ink.

This is not the first partnership between Microsoft and Wacom. The results of their first collaborative work were the pens created for the Surface Pro and Surface Pro 2. The tech giant then switched to N-Trig technology for its Surface Pro 3, only to switch back to Wacom following user complaints.

Wacom has been developing its technology for over 30 years now and is now patching Microsoft’s lack of accuracy in its N-Trig technology, primarily focused on note-taking:

Perfected and improved for over 30 years, loved by artist and professionals everywhere, Wacom’ s unique digital pen technology enables precise and natural input that lets you focus on what really matters: your creations.